Les Unwanted de Europa (2018)

Les Unwanted de Europa: Directed by Fabrizio Ferraro. With Euplemio Macri, Catarina Wallenstein, Marco Teti, Bruno Duchêne. The film retraces the events of a trail in the Pyrenees, which fleeing fascism that was infecting the heart of Europe. Catalans and internationalist militants fleeing the Franco regime before; Jews, communists and dissidents by the Nazis shortly after.

“I really loved this movie. I mean, really. So it surprised me to come here and find it rated so low.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy no means is this a perfect movie. It can be slow or awkward from time to time and there are one or two moments that just donu0026#39;t work. But. By and large I was really impressed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a great little story with just the right balance of comedy and drama, full of quirky characters and interesting performances. Ian Holm demands attention, as always, and Natalie Portmanu0026#39;s Sam, while offputting at first, definitely grew on me as she grew into a real character.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enBut the real story here is Zack Braff. It should surprise no one who has ever watched Scrubs that his performance keeps the movie together; or that he is able to create a jokey, distant, somewhat sarcastic character who also elicits real empathy from the audience and manages to emanate deep wounds. What amazes me is the work he has done here as a first time writer/director.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enFirst off, there is an actual narrative here with meaning and relevance. Too often, the big Hollywood movies will have a plot that resolves itself, but means nothing; on the flip side, independent movies almost seem to disdain plot for mood and thematic concerns. Braff is able to weave both together–a difficult task for a young writer. The dialogue is witty, plot situations intelligent and creative, and overall the writing is just–good.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for his directing, there are a few odd choices. Iu0026#39;m still not sure I like one scene the main characters are screaming into a deep ravine and the camera sweeps away into said ravine. It just tossed me out of the movie a bit. Iu0026#39;m also not completely sure what to make of the movieu0026#39;s ending, which I wonu0026#39;t go into further except to say that I felt it almost changed the focus of the movie up to that point and made it about something else. However, there are moments of absolutely beauty as well, here. The entire scene where Sam and Andrew talk in his friendu0026#39;s pool has some great shots, and Braffu0026#39;s comedic flair and timing are evident in his directing style, which still manages to pull back for the more dramatic and poignant moments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI urge you to see this movie. Itu0026#39;s not a u0026quot;bigu0026quot; movie. It was never meant to be. But I have little doubt that, once it finds an audience, it will be remembered for years to come. Sort of a modern day Graduate with a more hopeful outlook on life.”